<div>Hello from the COUNTER PUNCHED Production Team!
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<div>We are excited to announce that we are adapting Dwayne Vernon’s novel COUNTER PUNCHED into a feature film!
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<div>Attached to executive produce are Actress and Comedienne <strong>Leslie Jones </strong>of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, HBO's OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH, and COMING TO AMERICA 2 fame, and Writer and Producer <strong>David McMillan</strong> from notable projects such as Netflix’s MONSTER(S) series and Showtimes DEXTER: NEW BLOOD.
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<div><strong>THE</strong> <strong>FILM</strong>
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<div>Boxer C’zar’s biggest fight meets him outside of the ring, struggling with self acceptance and his willingness to allow community and love into his life. This film is a poetic thriller filled with romance, revenge, karma, and discovering the courage to live one’s authentic and true life.
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<div>There is a desire for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to see themselves reflected on screens in nuanced and multi-dimensional ways. We want to create a film that speaks to the Black and LGBTQIA+ experience and that shows to the surrounding communities that the multifaceted people and their complex stories matter and are worthy of being told.
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<div><strong>OUR GOALS</strong>
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<div>Our goal is to raise $200,000 for this film to put towards production, distribution and marketing and we would love for you to be a part of making this dream happen.
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<div>Dwayne and Kareem have adapted the novel into a screenplay and we are currently in the pre-production stage.
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<div>Everyone who donates from $1 to $200,000 will be acknowledged in the credits.
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<div>Counter Punched is the first in a series of 7 novels that we are planning to make into films and a TV series and we would be honored to have your support.
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<div>We want C’Zar’s journey to explode on the festival circuit and gain distribution from streaming services. We want the success of “Counter Punched” to be a spring board for future projects that highlight underrepresented and marginalized people so they can see themselves reflected on screen and that their lives and stories have value.
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<div>See you at the Movies!
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<div>The COUNTER PUNCHED Team
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<div><strong>ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND DETAILS ABOUT THE TEAM:</strong>
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<div><strong>PITCH DECK</strong>
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<div>Counter Punched pitch deck linked <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FrRLAdoKQ_GMHTkTmq9ktx4zbUdV-gv4/view" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong>
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<div><strong>EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS </strong>
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/89487141_175770979884471_r." width="100%" />
<div><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0428656/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_3_nm_5_in_0_q_leslie%2525252525252520jones" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>Leslie Jones</em></strong></a> <strong><em>, </em></strong>Actress, Comedienne, Writer
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<ul>
<li>Saturday Night Live
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<li>Our Flag Means Death
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<li>Ghostbusters
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<li>Coming to America 2 and many more projects.
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/89487141_1757709830715688_r." width="100%" />
<div><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573266/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_0_nm_8_in_0_q_David%2525252525252520McMillan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>David McMillan</em></strong></a> <strong><em>, </em></strong>Executive Producer, Screenwriter, Playwright
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<li>Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
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<li>Monster(s): The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
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<li>Dexter: New Blood
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<div><strong>DIRECTOR/PRODUCER</strong>
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<div><a href="https://linktr.ee/KareemFerguson" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Kareem Ferguson</strong></a> <strong>,</strong> Director, Producer, Actor
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<li>Gay Baby
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<li>iMurder
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<li>Sweetwater Road
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<li>He Knows My Heart
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<div>Additional Details:
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<li>This summer of 2025 he was accepted into the inaugural Tyler Perry Dream Collective training program for Directors .
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/89487141_1757709698715733_r." width="100%" />
<div>Sheryl Lee Ralph in 'He Knows My Heart' Directed by Kareem
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<div><strong>SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER</strong>
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<div><a href="https://www.dwaynevernon62.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Dwayne Vernon</strong></a>, Novelist, Screenwriter, Veteran
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<ul>
<li>"Counter Punched"
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<li>"Deception, Lies, and Truth"
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<li>"The Master's Plan"
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<div>Dwayne Vernon, has written seven novels that challenge stereotypes about Black Gay men.
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/89487141_175770961568256_r." width="100%" />
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Julius Hollingsworth

Joshua Myers

Nina Callaham

Wayne Moody

John Hylton

Kareem Ferguson 

patricia cornell

Anonymous

Curtis Cross

Damon Lee

talisa jackson

Debra Atkinson-Hyman 

Carlene Hardie 

James McCollough

Leroy Herron

Nora Harmon

Amari Yarbrough

Michael Rogers

Be Part of the Fight: Fund COUNTER PUNCHED with Leslie Jones

Just $417$ to go! Make an impact.

Be Part of the Fight: Fund COUNTER PUNCHED with Leslie Jones

Just $417 to go!
Make an impact.